I hadn't done student films in a couple of years. When I became focused on making my own shorts and films, I didn't have too much time to do other unpaid projects. I tried to stay active in theater, but the time wasn't there to do everything I wanted.

This fall, I've been a lot more aggressive with pursuing unpaid film work.

In late October I auditioned for a short film, that turned out to be an NYU student film. I hit it off with the director and was cast in an interesting role as a gang leader.

A few days later she recommended me to a classmate of hers for another role as a high school teacher. While reading for that role, the person I was reading with, Kyle, asked me to read for his short film as well.

The short was based on an episode of the hit Nickelodeon show "iCarly." But instead of using teenagers, he wanted to cast the episode with middle aged men. The very thought made me laugh.

I was able to draft into service a couple of actors that I had worked with this Summer when I was in Harold Pinter's "Party Time," Mark Solari and Peter De Vries.

We started shooting early Sunday morning. Mark played Carly, Peter her best friend Sam and I played Freddie, the camera guy. We had to stop and laugh a few times as the lines took on new meanings coming from the mouths of guys past their teenage years.

The funniest is when we saw who Kyle had cast as Carly's older brother, Spencer. The casting couldn't have been funnier.

Kyle moved efficiently and quickly. We covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time. I'm interested in seeing how the final movie looks after post-production.

Once I know, I'll post links!

The cast, Jeff as Spencer, Mark Solari as Carly, Peter De Vries as Sam, Jonathan Weirich as Freddie.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

"Deadly Sins" is a docu-drama crime show that has people associated with the case speak over re-enactments done by actors.

The actual crime took place in a suburb of Seattle. With a misty warm early December day, in a tiny house that bordered on barren woods, the small town of Sparta, New Jersey, doubled nicely for suburban Seattle.

Most of the cast and crew met at a location in Chelsea in Manhattan and were bused out for the all day shoot.

My role was fairly sizable. I played the son of the victim. Discovering an empty house, I am the one who eventually calls the cops to report my father missing which starts the investigation into the murder.